[D8805ABI], Letter from John Dwight to Thomas Alva Edison, March 7th, 1888
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Title
[D8805ABI], Letter from John Dwight to Thomas Alva Edison, March 7th, 1888
Editor's Notes
"I fear it is an imposition to ask such a favor if you as [unclear] about to, it is only after much hesitation that I have returned to [unclear]. ###But you can [unclear] it as not as you please--On the 17th of Mar. I have to discuss before the Senior Class of Amherst College the subject of an active pursuit in life, that is excluding Law, [unclear] and Theology, and instead to advocate Electrical Engineering. I should like to do this to intelligently and forcibly that my words might influence the choice of source material (?). I should like to support key statements with such strong arguments and information in facts that some of the men who incline toward servie and civil engineering might decide to take up electrical work + post graduate study. My request is that you should put down my briefly a few of the arguments for the choice of electricity as the field if a man's life work which seem to you the most important. If ever there was a practical man you can use of them and you on in a [unclear] to speak with authority. I of course can + will speak of the broad field here for original work, the fact that there is not only room at the top but also at the bottom etc.- but you can give specific cases, statistics, facts of experiment etc which no one else can. Do not think I am asking for any prat. Labor on your part; I should be asked to do that. I have no doubt you could get enough in a postal card to tip my [unclear] arrows + send them [unclear]. I am myself looking in this direction for my life work and [unclear] a double motive in making the request. ### Hoping that I am not trespassing to far on the good nature of a public man." TAE marg:: "What is needed is 1st class Electrical Engineers & Chemists. There are few of the first + practically none of the 2nd- The greatest field & the least worked is physical chemistry"]
Author
Recipient
Mentioned
Date
1888-03-07
Type
Folder/Volume ID
D8805-F
Microfilm ID
121:240
Document ID
D8805ABI
Publisher
Thomas A. Edison Papers, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University